Pluton Vectoring

As melted magma rushes upward within the crust of the Earth, it cools crystallizes. Mineral crystals in the liquid then sink to the bottom of a magma chamber. This causes the chemistry of the magma to change in a predictable way.

The crystals contain elements that we call “basic” while they leave behind elements we call “acid” in the melt. Also left in the melt are metals we value, such as gold, and volatile components, such as water.

Melted rock can hold only a small amount of water in solution. Eventually, it becomes so saturated in water that it can hold no more. At that point, the liquid fizzes, much like opening of a champagne bottle. The volatile components stream into the surrounding rocks carrying with them the valuable metals. The water is the beginning of a “hydrothermal solution” that mixes with ground water and continues toward the surface of the Earth carrying our valuable metals with it. Meanwhile, the basic component of the magma has now solidified and stopped moving, but the acid component is still liquid and continues upward.

This more acid melt now is crystallizing, becoming separated into relatively basic and acid portions, and becoming more saturated in water until it again becomes oversaturated and fizzes once more. We have seen this process happen as many as three times, each time giving rise to a series of gold deposits.

It is the early deposits, however, that are the largest deposits. We are able to determine whether the deposits we can see are the largest that may have been produced by a given source rock or if there are larger deposits left to be discovered in a particular area. We do not have to waste money and time chasing the smaller, later stage deposits, but can rather investigate the potential for giant deposits in the areas where are most likely to occur.